Miley Cyrus Talks Touring Retirement, Britney Spears & Why Beyoncé’s Work Ethic Gives Her ‘Chills’

Miley Cyrus had a lot to catch Billboard up on during her latest interview, from working with Beyoncé and Britney Spears to why she’s done touring for the foreseeable future.

Sitting down with Billboard News’ Tetris Kelly at a recent press junket for Avatar: Fire and Ash — for which the singer-actress penned the original song “Dream as One” — Cyrus first opened up about her much-publicized decision to stop hitting the road in support of her albums. She’s previously shared that keeping her performances more low-key is better for her mental health and sobriety, and she hasn’t embarked on a proper trek since 2014’s Bangerz Tour.

“My favorite thing to do is to perform in the lobbies of hotels, because then I just go up to my room [afterward],” Cyrus explained to Billboard. “The backstage of a venue is nothing like what the audience experiences. There’s a locker room. I’m not getting ready in a locker room.”

“I have to have a heart-on-fire feeling for anything I do, and I don’t love [when] it’s such a large scale [with] so many thousands of people,” she continued. “You lose that one-on-one, intimate connection.”

These past few years, Cyrus has opted instead to play intimate shows at small venues, with standout examples including her May performance at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and her Spotify Billions Club concert in Paris.

One notable exception? The time she jumped onstage with Beyoncé at a Cowboy Carter Tour stop to sing their “II Most Wanted” duet together.

“If it ain’t gonna be in the hotel lobby, it needs to be in Paris with Bey,” joked Cyrus of her surprise appearance with Queen Bey at Stade de France in 2024. “That was everything … She’s so fab, she’s everything you want her to be in person. She’s the true meaning of a professional, kind to everyone.”

While Cyrus says she doesn’t have the touring bug, Beyoncé definitely does. “What I realized was, when we talk about the heart-on-fire feeling, she has that for touring,” the Hannah Montana alum said. “Never did I see her not having joy on her face of putting the show together. It actually gives me chills.”

The interview comes at an exciting time for Cyrus. In addition to her partnership with the Avatar franchise, the vocalist just got engaged to longtime boyfriend Maxx Morando, something she also spoke about with Billboard.

Elsewhere in the interview, she touched on the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana and shared her favorite collaboration she’s ever released with another artist. “Honestly, I am going to say Beyoncé,” she said. “Because I just feel like I could have gone home after that.”

When Kelly brought up Cyrus’ “SMS (Bangerz)” collab with Britney Spears, Cyrus said, “Listen, if we’re torn between Britney and Beyoncé, we’re doing pretty good.”

Also of Spears, Cyrus noted that she “couldn’t even imagine” shouting out a different artist in the lyrics to her 2009 smash “Party in the U.S.A.” when Kelly challenged her to choose two modern musicians for a theoretical 2025 revamp of the song. “I’m not taking Britney out.”

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Cyrus above.